President Wilson had led negotiations for a truce to end the hostilities of World War One. Now, he hoped to play a major part in negotiations for a peace treaty. To be effective, he needed the full support of the American people.

DOUG JOHNSON: Americans had supported Wilson's policies through most of the war. They had accepted what was necessary to win. This meant higher taxes and shortages of goods. At the time, Americans seemed to forget party politics. Democrats and Republicans worked together.

All that changed when it became clear the war was ending. Congressional elections were to be held in November, nineteen eighteen. President Wilson was a Democrat. He feared that Republicans might gain a majority of seats in Congress. If they did, his negotiating powers at a peace conference in Europe would be weakened. Wilson told the nation:

"The return of a Republican majority to either house of Congress would be seen by foreign leaders as a rejection of my leadership."

BARBARA KLEIN: Republicans protested. They charged that Wilson's appeal to voters was an insult to every Republican. One party leader said: "This is not the president's private war." The Republican campaign succeeded. The party won control of both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The congressional elections were a defeat for President Wilson. But he did not let the situation interfere with his plans for a peace conference. He and the other Allied leaders agreed to meet in Paris in January, nineteen nineteen.